Too Bad, So Sad: Skincare Products That Don’t Work for Us

A lot of trial and error takes place before many of us find the beauty product that’s just right for us. Products that might suit other people may not work as well on our skin — just last December, I had a bad experience with products that contain ginseng. Ginseng-based beauty products were super popular at one point, and I really wanted it to work because my colleagues and friends could see results with the ginseng-based products they were using. But when I tried out my first ginseng-based serum,the only thing it did for was dry out and irritate my oily skin. The skin around my cheeks were flaking and my forehead broke out in zits.

But like I said, finding the right product for your own skin is all about trial and error. Read through to read a few more testimonies from colleagues who have had less than happy experiences with skincare products in the past with skincare products that don’t work for us.

Fonnyta, Business Development Manager

The skincare products that Fonnyta’s combination skin did not take too well to were all gel-based. She started using gel moisturizers because of the day and night hydration properties they offered, something she was specifically looking for to suit her aging skin issues. But when combined a BB powder foundation, she started noticing a breakout of fairly big pimples on her jawline. She thinks that the dampness of the sponge from the BB powder foundation may have exacerbated the activity on her oil glands, so when she stopped using the products, the pimples went away too.

Acesa, Research & Development Associate

Acesa’s oily skin is usually unfussy — so much so that many drugstore brands work just fine on her. She did, however, have an unhappy experience when she tried out products from a high-end skincare line. This was unusual because the this was a skincare line that gave other girls in the office supple, more bright skin, but it wreaked havoc on Cesa’s, who broke out in small zits on her T-zone.

But it turns out that Cesa wasn’t the only getting less than mediocre results from a high-end product. A star ingredient in many anti-aging products is something called nicaciamide, ,which works by increasing skin elasticity and diminish dark spots over time. Acesa has tried a handful of high-end beauty products that contain niaciamide, to no avail.

For some people, high prices will not necessarily deliver results. Check out what happened when Olay brought out the Olay Regenerist, which contains niaciamide to give the same time-fighting properties you find in more expensive products. They turned the tables on these Singaporean bloggers and gave them a little experiment over which product did better: the cream that cost $300 or $30?

Nadia, Account Executive

Vitamin C has been touted for its antioxidants, which help fight free radicals and spur the production of collagen and elastin (two naturally-occurring proteins that give skin its “bounce”). It is the very same antioxidants that make it a key ingredient in many products that claim to reduce pigmentation and brighten skin, but more and more people are coming out with adverse reactions to it. Sadly, FD newcomer Nadia was one of them: when she started using a daytime Vitamin C-based moisturizer with SPF 30, her skin reacted by breaking out and aggravating her comedo.

Melissa, Event & Partnership Associate

Melissa is another new member of the Female Daily family whose skin reacts negatively to Vitamin C: in the wake of her trial with a rich nighttime moisturizer with brightening properties she suspects that it was the powerful antioxidant factor of Vitamin C that broke her oily skin out into pimples.

Now, remember that just because these products don’t work on us, does not mean that they will not be effective on you. Everybody’s skin responds to different products in their own way. Have you had a rough experience with a particular skin product? Share it with us in the comments below!